CH. 14: Darkest Hour

[TristenC]

Grubnick follows his guide.

[JadedDM]

Kendra Synclair (Grand Market)
The dwarf says nothing. Indeed, he seems rather out of it, like he doesn't know where he is or what's happening. Like he had been heavily sedated beforehand.

Gregeddin says softly, "You're doing great, kid. Very convincing. So what's the signal for when you cut my bonds free and I escape in the chaos? Which direction should I run? Are the others hiding in the crowd or are they part of the distraction?"

Meanwhile, the crowd's reaction is surprise, then growing interest. They start talking among each other, and some crowd together trying to get close enough to see better.

Gobax and Shima (Northwestern Haven Sewers)
Gobax catches up with Shima, who is examining a door. It's a simple wooden door, reinforced with steel. There is no visible lock on it. If there are any traps on it, the dwarf is unable to find them.

===========

Shima checks the door for traps [F/RT 20%] (1d100): 66, fail.

(OOC: I was just giving Tristen a chance to respond. Maybe Gobax would have wanted to keep searching or something. But if I had Shima wait for him, you would have accused me of 'ignoring' your posts again.)

[TristenC]

[Did grubnick get a chance to finish searching for secret doors? I know that takes 10 mins or so for a 10x20 section depending on how detailed the wall is.]

[Chris1234]

When Gobax catches up with Shima, he opens the door.
If nothing untoward he leads on to the west.
If there is then a choice of tunnels or doors, he will go to the south (failing which, west) opening any door as necessary not bothering to search them and only trying to unlock them once they're shown to be locked.

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra shakes her head at Gregeddin. "There isn't anyone to save you, to provide a distraction, or anything," she replies just as softly. Her hands were shaking at this point as she took her position next to the dwarf cleric. "The prisoners have declined any last words, so the execution will begin," she calls out to the crowd. She pulls out her sword, and checks her aim before she lifts her sword over her head and brings it down with all of her strength so that she can cut off the cleric's head in one swoop.

[Haahque]

Haahqae has to make a decision quickly. If he stays here he might get locked in and unable to get out without alerting the guards. If he leaves then he hasn’t been able to even talk to Ismene, and if he’s wrong and she’s executed today then he might be giving up his only chance to talk to her again.

Haahqae could probably stay invisible until he needs to leave. The spell will run out before then, but if he rests while invisible and recasts it, it should continue for another day. He would be sleeping while invisible, which means the guards wouldn’t see him, but they could trip over him. Maybe he could slip into one of the unlocked cells so that the risk of being tripped over was very low. They are unlocked right? He thinks so, but little time to tell with so short a window of opportunity.

He’s wanted to talk to her for weeks, although he’s not exactly sure what he wants to say. If he slips out now, maybe he can come back later and drug the guards or have a better plan when the guards are changing or find a way in through the other door (is that unguarded?)
If Haahqae stays here he’s probably going to end up skipping supper. And maybe breakfast. Maybe he deserves that for inflicting this on Ismene. Did he? Certainly the stupid prefect and his moronic guards are at fault for imprisoning an innocent. They’re way more at fault then he is, but he still can’t shake that feeling that he at least shares in the responsibility.

How is a simple cell holding Ismene in place when she can just turn invisible? Don’t they think that she’s able to pick complex vault-locks? If he stays here he could learn about her opportunities to escape, but he would also risk the prefect bringing in some sort of anti-magic anti-invisiblity anti-lockpicking device for security purposes, which could land Haahqae in a huge load of trouble.

Everyone else Haahqae has talked to about Ismene seems to be useless or incompetent, so it seems like Haahqae might be Ismene’s last hope, he can’t afford to be caught.

It might be painful for Haahqae to follow the guard back out of Ismene’s cell, but pain is a constant in his life these days, so it’s hard to tell. However he does it, and searches the warehouse for a suitable spot to hide for the night.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Prefect's Mansion)
Haahqae hurries out after the servant before he's locked in. The servant heads back upstairs and the two guards resume their post.

Haahqae decides to explore the remainder of the basement for now, looking for a good place to hide out for the night. He finds the place is mostly used for storage. There's old barrels, crates and even a single chest with a lock on it.

Prefect's Mansion 07.jpg (196.79 KiB) Viewed 7698 times

Kendra Synclair (Grand Market)
The dwarf's head--it occurs to Kendra she never did learn his name--lops off and tumbles a bit down the stage. Luckily it comes to a stop before falling off the stage. There are gasps and cheers from the audience, as people react with horror mixed with bloodlust.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gregeddin says, trying to get to his feet. The baaz flanking him grab his shoulders and force him back down to his knees. "Let's not be rash here. We're friends, right, Kendra? Remember the good times? Those kobolds in the cave? The Ergothian Cavalier? You don't really want to do this, do you?" he asks, panic rising in his voice. "I didn't even do anything! Is this really a line you want to cross? For who, the prefect?"

Gobax and Shima (West Haven Sewers)
Pushing open the door reveals a long tunnel continuing west. Taking the lead, Shima heads forward with Gobax behind him. They are just about to reach an intersection, with a path heading north, when a trio of giant rats emerge from an old broken pipe and move in to attack.

(OOC: For the sake of simplicity, we'll say Gobax had enough time to search thoroughly.

Actions for Round 1?)

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra looks down at Gregeddin with cold eyes. This was not a line she wanted to cross , but what choice did she have? She could either kill him, and free her husband, or she could not kill him and be killed herself for being a traitor. "It has to be done," she says. She raises her sword once again as she tries to hide the fact that her hands are trembling. After taking a deep breath, she brings her sword down to sever Gregeddin's head from his body.

[TristenC]

[I see from the rules thread firing into melee doesn't endanger allies (aside from a natl 1). Are there any penalties to hit, though?]

Gobax fires his sling at the lead rat. And here I was beginning to think we were alone down here. The goblin jokes.

[Chris1234]

Try to hit a rat. With the club.

[Haahque]

When there’s a locked chest, it’s very tempting to pick the lock just to see what’s inside; but Haahqae has to restrain himself because what could be in there that would help? It’s an old musty cellar outside a cell. Keys? Nope, the guards have that on their persons. (Note to self: keep an eye on the guards and try to figure out if they have a set of keys each, or if only one of them has keys.)

With all the old barrels around, he can probably find a spot amongst them to hide for the night; either hiding between the barrels or in one of the bigger ones. With a place to sleep secured, his next issue is food. Some for himself, some for Miracle. Fortunately Ismene (and Arcane? Did he see her in there?) is already fed.

He should try looking in some of the barrels to see what is being stored here; is it food? He will also see if he can open the door in the south-west corner.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Prefect's Mansion)
Observing the guards for awhile, Haahqae notes that only the first one seems to carry keys. The second one does not.

While he is searching around, it occurs to him that he did not see Arcane with Ismene. Perhaps she was hiding in Ismene's clothes? Or maybe he just wasn't looking carefully enough. Is it possible that the two were separated?

He searches and finds some food and water. The food includes hardtack, salted beef and fish, and some jarred preserves. When he tries to the door in the southwest, though, he finds it locked.

Kendra Synclair (Grand Market)
"This woman is no hero!" Gregeddin exclaims to the crowd. "She is just a pawn of the evil that has overtaken us! The people of this city deserve better! You must rise up and claim your free--!" His impassioned speech is cut off, along with his head, which this time does tumble down off the stage and comes to stop at the feet of the audience.

Instead of cheers, the audience mutters among themselves. There's a wave of confusion as they consider the man's final words and look up at Kendra, garbed in black armor with a five headed dragon insignia, holding a sword wet with the blood of a former companion.

Gobax and Shima (West Haven Sewers)
The narrow tunnel bottlenecks the rats to a degree. The two that are able to reach Shima bite at him. One is unable to get through his leather leggings, but the other does and leaves a nasty bite on his ankle. Shima retaliates at an unnamed target, but unaccustomed to using a club, misses. Gobax tries throwing a rock at one, but it hits the sewer wall instead and clatters to the ground a few feet away.

===============

Initiative
Gobax (1d10+3): 10+3 = 13
Shima (1d10+4): 7+3 = 10
Giant Rat 01 (1d10+3): 5+3 = 8
Giant Rat 02 (1d10+3): 6+3 = 9
Giant Rat 03 (1d10+3): 4+3 = 7

Round 1!

Giant Rat 03 is unable to move forward.
Giant Rat 01 bites at Shima in leather armor (+2 hit) while he is carrying a masterwork shield (-2 hit) [TH 15] (1d20): 7, miss.
Giant Rat 02 bites at Shima in leather armor (+2 hit) while he is carrying a masterwork shield (-2 hit) [TH 15] (1d20): 20, critical hit! for (2d3): 2,3 = 5 damage. Shima is now seriously wounded.
Shima swings his club with no proficiency (-2 hit) at Giant Rat 01 [TH 10] (1d20-2): 6-2 = 4, miss.
Gobax throws a stone at Giant Rat 01 with excellent aim (+2 hit) [TH 11] (1d20+2): 7+2 = 9, miss.

(OOC: No penalties to hit, no. But Gobax left his sling in his room, so he'll have to just throw the stones instead. This really doesn't affect anything but the range, though.

Actions for Round 2?)

[HorizonsDream]

The urge to throw up was rather overwhelming as she lowers her sword to her side, and looks over the now dead Gregeddin. She closes her eyes for a few moments as if trying to will herself to not throw up, and turns to the now doubtful crowd. "Do you remember what Haven was like before the army came?" she asks the crowd. "Our streets were overpopulated with refugees. Haven was on the verge of collapse. Innocent people, both Haven citizens and refugees were dying on the streets because we didn't have the resources to help both our population and the populations of other cities," she says. "Though, our streets are relatively safe now, and people are working again," she points out. "My job is to protect the citizens of Haven from the people that threaten their safety, and these two men threatened our safety." Kendra knew all too well that the army threatened the safety of the citizens, but she had to put on this act. She didn't know if her words actually swayed the people back in her favor, but she tried all the same. She turns to one of the nearest guards on the gallows. "Get this cleaned up," she says. She absently cleans off her sword as she steps down from her newest stage. While looking calm, she looks for a spot where she can have a bit of privacy, even if it is some dirty alley so she can remove her breastplate (as it was feeling rather constricting), and then immediately throw up in a corner.

[TristenC]

Gobax throws a stone at one of the lead rats. [Rat 1]
You ok? He asks the injured dwarf.

[Chris1234]

The dwarf hits the rat.

"Just.a scratch," grunts Shima. He will maintain a similar frontage until he drops.